Breath of fresh air: less smoke polluting Manitoba skies

After weeks of air quality warnings, Manitobans can breathe a sigh of relief.

“We have finally cleared our air quality alerts for not only the Winnipeg area, but for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which has not been the case for quite some time,” said Christy Climenhaga, a scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“We’ve finally seen some rain in parts of central Saskatchewan and central Manitoba, expecting a little bit more. And looking at our air quality, our current values are pretty good.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Winnipeg’s air quality risk was at level three — meaning low risk — dropping from moderate risk Tuesday night.

There have been warnings and alerts in Manitoba for about the last month, excepting a few short periods, said Climenhaga.

There is some remaining smoke that has yet to pass, but Climenhaga said weather models show “pretty decent” forecasts and more rain coming.

There have been around 350 hours of smoke in Winnipeg this summer, making it the smokiest summer on record.

Climenhaga encouraged Winnipeggers to enjoy the clearer air but to keep an eye out for future alerts.

“We’ll have to see how this latest dose of rain helps the situation. Cool air, rain in that region is a good thing, but if we do get more lightning, it’s something that could continue to be an issue,” she said.

“I would say it’s nice to see a change and maybe some improvement in our air quality over the next little while, but there’s still quite a bit of season left.”